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NHLGamers, Much alike last year, the very first tournament in the new iteration of EA Sports NHL has been the IS Cup, and similarly the culmination of it all takes place at GameXpo in Messukeskus. The event in November 2018 was the first 6vs6 LAN hosted by NHLGamer and we chalk that up as a tremendous success, which started an array of other great NHLGamer events such as the ECL 8, SCL and most recently the FCL finals. We've learned a lot and so have our players, so we're glad to be back at GameXpo and aim to deliver an outstanding final event together with Ilta-Sanomat, Playstation and Alpro. (1) HAVU Gaming vs Butterfly Effect (6) Group stage record: 12-0-0 79 GF - 6,58 GF/GP (1st) 10 GA - 0,83 GA/GP (Tied for 1st) Top scorer (Playoffs): @Buantso 9GP, 9+20=29 (2nd) Goaltender (Playoffs): @Hansulinho 9GP, 9W, 81,25 SV%, 1,22 GAA, 2 SO (T-2nd) These boys from Finland are playing convincingly dominating hockey, they are often seen trying to look for perfect opportunities to score a goal and surprisingly often end up successful. They recognise the flow of the game and know when they must switch game style, but most of the time they are combining skill-based puck control hockey and stellar team play, as they have a level of game sense and chemistry that's unheard of. HAVU's last two LAN outings have seen them go up against FILA in the finals and they've come out victorious each time. Their key player in puck control and the offensive quarterback is @FlyerKungen, who often sets up his office behind the opposing teams net. At the same time, their defenders etch closer to the net taking away all space from the opponents and allowing for fast passing and beautiful chaos, which HAVU knows how to utilise. Group stage record: 11-1-0 67 GF - 5,58 GF/GP (8th) 15 GA - 1,25 GA/GP (8th) Top scorer (Playoffs): @Vilupoika 12GP, 18+6=24 (9th) Goaltender (Playoffs): @PCJP 12GP, 9W, 80,37 SV%, 1,75 GAA, 2 SO (T-2nd) Stick handling, greasy goals, breakaways and utilizing game mechanics to the greatest potential are all factors that bring to mind the play of Butterfly Effect. The team relies on their effective trap to create quick turnovers and score goals off of rushes often ending with @Vilupoika netting a goal. Another strength of the FLY squad is the utilisation of redirections and rebounds, which is something they do extraordinarily well. FLY cycles the puck and are more keen to take point shots than the other teams we see at GameXpo. Their defenders can be seen closing in on the net and generating heavy offensive pressure, much like their semi-final opponent HAVU. FLY also has an effective forecheck that keeps the opposing defenders on their toes in breakout plays and when the puck is in deep. (2) Delusion vs FILADELPHIA (5) Group stage record: 14-0-0 94 GF - 6,71 GF/GP (2nd) 21 GA - 1,5 GA/GP (T-8th) Top scorer (Playoffs): @Beniittto 9GP, 11+21=32 (1st) Goaltender (Playoffs): @ICappeI 9GP, 9W, 88,57 SV%, 0,88 GAA, 4 SO (1st) The players in Delusion feed off of puck control and possess an incredible chemistry which dates back some 3 years and countless games. Delusion will cycle the puck and tire out the opposition until they find an opening to strike, but at the same time never pass up on an opportunity to drive the net. They have an interesting defensive combination with the offensively minded @Ilmari_30 and the long time FILA defenseman @Janzuh, who is matching up against his old teammates in this bittersweet battle. Delusions forecheck is bad news to any opposition and will strike if they smell a mistake coming up. Group stage record: 11-1-0 70 GF - 5,83 GF/GP (7th) 13 GA - 1,08 GA/GP (5th) Top scorer (Playoffs): @Eki 9GP, 14+13=27 (5th) Goaltender (Playoffs): @FinKonna 8GP, 8W, 81,81 SV%, 1,25 GAA, 1 SO FILA is a franchise name in the 6s community and together with HAVU they've been the ones to beat for quite some time. A year back in time we saw a legendary final between FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming (Written In The Stars) where FILA drew the longer straw. Since then these two have been matched twice and HAVU has been the better team by a country mile on both occasions. We'll eagerly wait and see if we se a repeat of IS Cup 3 or if someone else is ready to take the throne. FILA seems to have picked up on the utilisation of the office behind the net too, but if their opponents shut that down they won't be hesitant to switch their game up and even go for greasier options if need be. It won't be a surprise to see these guys in the top 2 this year again. Preliminary schedule for Friday, 15th of November: 12.30 CET Delusion vs FILADELPHIA, games 1-2 13.45 CET HAVU Gaming vs Butterfly Effect, games 1-2 16.00 CET Delusion vs FILADELPHIA, games 3-5 * 17.45 CET HAVU Gaming vs Butterfly Effect, games 3-5 * *Games 4-5 if required. All games will be streamed on IS Streamcorner Twitch. Who do you think will win? Let us know in the comments below!

NHLGamers, We're almost there, the most anticipated league of the year is starting and you still have time to join the action! ECL 9 Elite kicked off with a bang last night and next week will be your turn to show us what you've got. This season, we're also introducing the ECL Neo, a division for new NHL gamers to get adjusted to playing in a league and the requirements that it has on a team and its players. See it as an incubator for future potential. ECL Neo will also be suitable for players who want to play games at a less stressful pace as this division only has two suggested weekly game days. Alongside Neo, we will run Lite, Pro and Elite as usual. Sign up NOW, as the signups will close tomorrow, Friday 15th of November at 23:59 CET. Sign up for ECL 9 Pro here 32 teams Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams Gamedays: Monday, Tuesday & Thursday Regular season: Two groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-7 8 days per round Sign up for ECL 9 Lite here 48-64 teams (TBC) Sign up: Anyone can apply for ECL Lite Teams will be decided by Franchise history, Roster composition and EASHL record ECL Lite registrants are also allowed to apply for a spot in ECL Pro Teams signing up for ECL Lite that don't make it into ECL Pro or ECL Lite will be automatically placed in ECL Neo Gamedays: Tuesday, Wednesday & Sunday Regular season: Four groups Playoffs: 32 teams Best-of-7 8 days per round Sign up for ECL 9 Neo here 32+ teams Sign up: Without restrictions Gamedays: Wednesday & Sunday Regular season: Four groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-5 7 days per round Gather your team, sign up and we'll see you on the ice!

NHLGamers, Another day, another story! It is with great pleasure we continue welcoming new professional sports organisations into our growing community. This time we have the honour of announcing that the roster of Northern Ascendancy will from now on be representing Luleå Hockey. The team is a combination of the former Northern Stars and Northern Ascendancy, where a multinational core of players combine talent, skill and experience for a lethal force on the ice. "It's an interesting initiative to grow the sport and increase interest in the youth community and that's why we've decided to venture into NHL esports. We're going into this with an open mind and have now acquired a roster that will represent Luleå Hockey going forward." - Stefan Enbom, CEO of Luleå Hockey "Playing under the Luleå banner generated a great amount of interest and we're very happy with our decision to recruit the guys we have for our team. It's a group of experienced players who have played together for several years and have top 4 finishes in both the ECL and SCL under their belt. We're moving fast in traditional hockey and we aim to do the same in esports. ECL Elite starts this week and our team takes on the challenge of competing for the best European team in hockey esports." - Andreas @AntzLhf Joanson, Sporting director at Luleå Hockey For some comments about the team, we caught up with skilled defenseman and assistant captain Hampus @The_Alpha_Furyan Duvefelt: What was it with Luleå Hockey that made you want to sign with them? Well, first of all it’s a classic Swedish hockey team. Luleå might not have 100+ years of history, but in the 42 years they’ve been around they’ve played in the top Swedish league for most of that time. What made us keen to represent Luleå though was their incredible enthusiasm when it came to the world of NHL esports. Not to mention their exciting vision for the future. Having someone like Andreas @AntzLhf – who is familiar with EASHL and NHLGamer – leading this venture on Luleås part gave us a lot of trust that they would “get it right”, which was important to us. We had a few other offers, but Andreas consistently made sure to let us know the clubs plans moving forward and how much they specifically wanted to bring us onboard and in the end, that was one of the deciding factors. What will set Luleå apart from the competition going forward? Off-ice, I think the dedication and commitment from Luleå Hockey to developing their esports section will be as good as any organization in the NHLGamer scene. We feel confident we will have everything we need to be able to perform our best in EASHL competition. On-ice, we’ll continue to rely on our usual quick offense and creative passing game we’ve been using for the past couple of tournaments. When its off its off… but when it’s on, it can hopefully wreak some have havoc for our opponents. What are your thoughts in general on several traditional hockey organisations recruiting esports rosters? What do you see as the potential benefits? Well, I know I speak for everyone when I say its an amazing and inspiring thing. To actually put pen on paper and sign a contract to play the game you’ve played for years and years, since you were a kid, just feels tremendous. Unreal, almost. The benefits for the scene are hard to put into words. It means everything to have esports organizations like HAVU and sports organizations like DEG, ZSC Lions, Växjö Lakers, Färjestad BK and now Luleå Hockey join our community and show that faith in us that this can continue to grow and evolve. For the teams themselves, it's probably exciting to open up a new way of communicating with fans and to perhaps one day play in a league against each other – capitalizing on the already existing rivalries. For example, we look forward to playing Färjestad where you’ll have both the rivalry of Northern Ascendancy vs. Bucketeers, but also Luleå vs. Färjestad. NHLGamer extends a warm thank you to Hampus and wishes good luck in their debut season wearing the Luleå colors. Follow Luleå Hockey Esport on their Twitter and Twitch channels for all the updates you might want on the team! Luleå Hockey Luleå Hockey hails from the city of Luleå in Northern Sweden. Having been founded in 1977 makes the club rather young, but despite that they have had some success in the form of one national championship, one European Trophy and their most recent trophy - a CHL victory in 2015. Luleå Hockey has been the incubator for highlight reel talent like Linus Omark and journeyman goaltender Anders Nilsson to name a few.